ED quizzes former Haryana CM Hooda in Manesar land case

CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is questioning former Haryana Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda in a Manesar land grab case, an official said on Thursday.

"We are questioning Hooda at our office in Chandigarh in connection with the Manesar land grab case," a senior ED official told IANS in New Delhi, adding that the former Chief Minister is being asked about the decision of his government to transfer the land to the private builders.

Hooda is being questioned under the sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the official said.

The ED has filed a case of money laundering against Hooda and several other officials of the state Urban Development Department on the basis of the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Earlier this year, the CBI had booked Hooda and T.C. Gupta, the then Chief Administrator, HUDA and Director, Urban Estate, Town and Country Planning Department, and others, including 15 private builders, on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, pecuniary advantage and criminal misconduct in connection with alleged irregularities in allotting over 1,417 acres of land in Gurugram during 2009-12.

Earlier this month, the CBI had carried out raids at the Krish Buildtech Pvt Ltd. in Jasola district centre in Delhi, and recovered 14 documents pertaining to land deals in Manesar.